RealGM

vs.



Monday: Rockies 3, Cardinals 2

Tuesday, 7:10 p.m.: Taylor Buchholz [1-1, 8.04] vs. Brad Thompson [1-0, 4.67]

Wednesday, 12:10 p.m.: Jason Hirsh [2-2, 3.82] vs. Adam Wainwright [5.60]

There can't be too many NL starters with ERAs worse than Buchholz's 8.04, but I'm sure that the Cardinals will help him improve it.

Post-Dispatch sportswriter Derrick Goold today has the perfect one-liner for this year's team: "These Birds don't have a bat to perch on."

We've played 30 games now, and we have FOURTEEN losses in which we scored two runs or fewer.

We have not scored more than three runs in a game yet this month.

In the last 49 innings, we have scored runs in three of them.

Anthony Reyes has now made six starts, and in those six games the Cardinals have scored a sum total of eight runs.

It just goes on and on. Has there ever been a worse-hitting Cardinals team? I mean, since the days when they just took a hunk of cotton and put a cover on it to make a baseball?

Someone should research this. I'd do it myself, but it might make me throw up. All I know is that this is the most abysmal Cardinals offense I've ever seen.

All I know is I was sitting watching the TV last night before I went out. And what do I see, I see LaRussa to go ahead and walk the bases loaded. I mean don't bring in a right hander to pitch to Atkins, but just go ahead and load the bases by intentionally walking him. Even big Al H was like Tyler used to have a wild arm and guess what he walks Hawpe. The blame should be totally on LaRussa for that. Especially after we got lucky as hell that the umps are stupid and called that a double although it was clearly a HR.

****.

Reyes has been our 2nd best starter behind Looper, yes mizzou better than Wainwright. And he can't get any help. He has 28 Ks in 34 IP and has a WHIP of 1.12, that ERA of 5.03 is crap it should be about 3.8. Not that it matters because like mizzou already said the Cardinals suck at hitting.

Buchholz has a 4.57 xFIP compared against the new starter Thompson, so I have no idea who to pick, and can only say where the hell is Narveson!

Then I predict Hirsh to win, because he's a little better than Wainwright and the Rockies actually know how to hit the ball.

Seriously it's getting to the point where our 3 best prospects(Rasmus, Garcia, Anderson) who are all at least a year away could improve this team.

Yeah, Reyes has looked pretty good his last few starts. My take on him is that he still needs to learn how to pitch when there are guys on base. That makes his WHIP and so on a bit deceptive IMO. He'll be dominant for three or four innings, then he'll get in trouble and not be able to get himself out of it and pretty soon he's gone six innings and given up more runs than hits. Watching him pitch games like last night is encouraging, though...he's got a chance to be a good starter in time.

I still think Wainwright has a chance to be even better. Waino's got better stuff. He just needs to grow a pair. Come on, dude, you're a big-league starter now. Throw the heat, throw the big 12-6 yakker, quit worrying so damn much and just kick everybody's ass.

Growing pains this year, or at least early this year, for both Reyes and Wainwright. They're going to be OK.

But Wells is awful, and I'm afraid our hitting is going to stink all season.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION TONITE

We scored more than three runs, in a single ball game.

WOO HOO

Chris Duncan defensive stud:

Stolen from the Yahoo account of the game:

Thompson worked around two hits and a walk in the second when left fielder Chris Duncan threw out Brad Hawpe at the plate trying to score on Omar Quintanilla's single. Duncan also made the defensive play of the game, robbing Todd Helton of extra bases and an RBI in the sixth with a diving catch near the foul line in left.

"He dives for everything," La Russa said. "He is absolutely fearless out there."

Game starts in a half an hour, hopefully we can get a winning streak going.

Winning streak = 2

And it sure is nice to see them score some runs, even if just against a bad pitching staff.

Now we have a tough road trip to San Diego, LA, and Detroit. If we can keep it going...maybe the team will have turned the corner.